Mabel at the Wheel is a 1914 Keystone Studios slapstick comedy produced by Mack Sennett, written and directed by Mabel Normand. It was the first two-reel film starring
• Charlie Chaplin
In this film, Chaplin plays a villain, a Dutch immigrant (a character made famous by Ford Sterling, the star of Keystone, whom Chaplin had been asked to replace... and imitate, which he would not tolerate for long). Mabel Normand (00:29), meanwhile, is the girlfriend of a pilot (Harry McCoy, 00:28). On the occasion of the Vanderbilt Cup, a famous car race which takes place in Santa Monica, Chaplin kidnaps Mabel's boyfriend to prevent him from participating in the competition (09:48). But Mabel is not discouraged and gets into the car herself (11:46). In spite of all the attempts of sabotage of the perfidious little mustachian, she will manage to gain the final victory.
Chapters
00:00 - First part
00:27 - Rivalry
06:42 - At the Vanderbilt Cup
10:14 - Second part
10:17 - Start
16:25 - Three laps to the finish
21:43 - The winners
The filming of Mabel at the Wheel was marked by disagreements between the director, Mabel Normand, and rising Keystone star Charlie Chaplin, who questioned her abilities. Chaplin was also upset that he had to play the character of Ford Sterling, but it was due to the success of this film that Chaplin was offered the opportunity by Sennett to direct his next films.
Mabel at the Wheel was actually shot in Santa Monica during the February 26, 1914 edition of the Vanderbilt Cup and contains actual scenes from it. That year, the victory went to Italian-American Ralph De Palma, who had already won the previous edition.
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